Mike Horn Conquering K2
17 June 2019
After two unsuccessful expeditions to summit K2 in 2010 and 2015, Mike Horn is currently travelling through Pakistan for his final attempt. Teaming up again with Swiss mountain guide Fred Roux, they are hoping to reach the summit by mid-July.
K2 - known as the “savage mountain” due to its extreme terrain - is part of the Karakoram mountain range between Pakistan and China. It is the only one of the world’s 8,000m+ peaks which has never been summited in winter, in part due to its severe isolation and frequent storms.
Mike, Fred and the team have already passed Askole, the highest village in Pakistan and last point of civilization before accessing the Karakoram mountain range. They are now undertaking a 6-day hike to Base Camp, where we expect the next update. They will then spend up to 44 days acclimatizing and preparing at Base Camp, ready for a summit attempt in mid-July.
Expedition updates - 24.06.2019
24 June 2019 - The 6-day hike is now over for Mike and his team who have reach the K2 base camp. The weather conditions have brought additional difficulties to the expedition and provided a good warm up for what is waiting for them in the next month.
The team has however started a beautiful journey in the mountain, from discovering stunning views of the Gaseherbrum peaks, to crossing over moraines, to reaching the “Concordia” the meeting point between the Baltoro and the Godwin-Austin glaciers. The climb to the camp at 6000m is already a challenging endeavor and sets the stage for what is to follow.
Fred and Mike are in great shape, they are planning to do their first attempt to reach the camp 1 this week. We will keep you posted.
Expedition updates - Mike Horn from K2 to the North pole
On July 17, 2019 Mike Horn and his teammate Fred Roux had to turn back 400m before the K2 summit due to strong wind and repeated avalanches.
After nearly two months in Pakistan and with bad weather forecast for the following week, they were not able to make a second attempt and had to go back home.
Being his third attempts on K2, Mike Horn did not this tearing him down, the ascent was already an amazing experience and he will be back in the future.
For now, he has other goals as he is continuing his Pole2Pole expedition. Currently sailing with Pangea to Alaska, he will team up with Borge Ousland, the famous Norwegian Polar explorer and cross the Arctic Ocean via the North Pole.
We will keep you in the updated on the different stage of this new expedition.
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